To Deny the Gods of Destiny
by nibby9
Summary: A prophecy from the Oracle sparks a chain of events that will ultimately lead to the destruction of Jason's surrogate home, Atlantis, should destiny prevail. An unlikely friend and the knowledge of what will be remembered throughout history could help shape a legend, but is it possible to fight fate? And at what cost?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Atlantis or I wouldn't be writing _Fanfiction_ : )

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_A man with dark hair sprints past, sandals stirring the fallen leaves at his feet. Towering trees cast an ominous gloom upon the surroundings of the forest where the running man was the only movement visible in the fading light of a dying sun._

The scenes came in flashes, linked together randomly in one continuous stream.

_A heavy panting could be heard above all else with the steady thump of foot pounding earth. The rest of the world lay silent, waiting, watching._

_The man was Jason but there did not seem to be anything chasing him. Like a lion hunting its prey, the rest of the land was still and the darkness was creeping._

She lifted her head to the heavens not looking at anything but seeing everything. More flashes.

_A woman's scream broke the night air. A scared man with a dagger pressed against the walls of a hallway. An arrow hitting flesh with a body hitting the floor._

_The sky in flames and lightening followed by the thundering boom of Olympus._

The Oracle has spoken.


	2. Chapter 1

**To Deny the Gods of Destiny Chapter 1**

**A/N: **Hello Atlantis fans, this is my first attempt at a story in this fandom so I hope you enjoy! No more cryptic writing in this chapter, don't worry! Please, please review to tell me how I'm doing – constructive criticism is, as always, very welcome indeed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Atlantis unfortunately

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The quiet silence of the night broke when three men came barreling through the door, laughing and stumbling in.

"That is the last time I ever take up a drinking challenge of yours, Hercules." A weak limbed Pythagoras laughed, supported on one side by a grinning Jason.

"Well, not everyone is a worthy match for the great Hercules himself, it has to be said!" He bragged, taking one step forward, slipping on a bowl on the floor and landing in a heap in front of the others.

"It doesn't take much to be a match though, does it, apparently?" Jason chuckled as he watched his friend haul himself to his feet and brush himself off.

"Yeah, yeah..."Hercules grumbled in reply, muttering to himself about how great he was. The two rolled their eyes while he walked off and smiled in amusement. Jason carefully aided his tipsy friend into a chair at the table and grabbed a glass of water to hand him.

"Drink this; it'll help." Pythagoras gave a slight nod in gratitude while downing the cool liquid, his face forming a grimace once done.

"I feel awful." He complained, massaging his temple with his eyes closed.

"Serves you right for the amount you drank in the tavern – you should know better than to try and drink Hercules under the table."

"What I don't understand is how you got out of it, Jason." He replied lazily, eyes still closed.

"Well one of us had to stay nearly sober, didn't they, or we'd all wake up in the morning in some pig sty covered in dung!"

A hasty shout of '_That was one time!"_ from the neighbouring bedroom elicited a round of laughter from Jason and Pythagoras but the amusement was cut short when the latter spotted a cloaked figure standing in the open doorway of the house.

Sobering up instantly, "Who's there?" he called. Jason whipped around to face the same direction, also becoming instantly wary and serious. He flashed a look around nearby for possible weapons should the visitor be hostile. People arriving would not be an unusual thing had it not been the early hours of the morning where the intruder was cloaked and hidden by the darkness of the night.

The figure stepped forward and Jason took a fighting stance but instantly relaxed when the small glow of a single candle lit the face under the cloak which revealed a solemn and worried Oracle.

She pulled down the hood and Pythagoras let out a small gasp, trying and failing to rise to his feet but instead falling straight back into the chair due to the alcohol still coursing through his body.

"What are you doing here?" He blurted out, struggling to find any other words.

The woman looked at both men in turn, finally resting upon Jason, eyes full of panic.

"I had to come." She replied.

"In the dead of night?" Jason questioned with a frown.

"If you had let me finish talking, I would have told you that I come as a matter of grave importance." She finished, Jason shut his mouth to hold back a response.

"The Gods have shown me a vision of the future and it is something to fear. Above all else, this prophecy must never become reality, for all our sakes. A drastic set of events are about to unfold."

"That's terrible, of course, but in what way could this future possibly concern us? Or at least be so urgent for you to leave the temple at this time of night?"

She shook her head slightly. "You are more involved than you could ever believe Jason although I cannot reveal exactly how. I cannot say much more but I may say this: You must be prepared - beware of new allies as foes lurk in disguise, you will all be needed sooner than you think and I am afraid it will be hard. Some will suffer but you must not let my vision come true or else Atlantis will be doomed. The Gods are ever watching, always remember. I must leave now but heed my words for I speak the truth - do not misplace your trust."

And with that, she swiftly departed, leaving behind two speechless and clueless men. Silence fell but was promptly broken again.

"Well, what do you think that was all about?" Pythagoras asked. Jason merely shook his head.

"I have no idea, but what –" His reply was cut short by the clanging of warning bells that awoke the whole city, including the slumbering Hercules who woke with a confused outburst of '_Medusa I'm already awake, I swear... huh?"_

Pythagoras and Jason looked at each other before both rushing outside like numerous other people in the streets. When they finally made it out, the majority of people seemed to be looking and moving in the same direction towards the palace where even in the darkness there was light coming from. Perhaps a bit too much. An acrid smell of smoke began to waft in the people's direction.

Hercules had finally managed to rejoin his friends in a somewhat awake state to ask what was happening. The only answer he gained in response was when Jason began bolting off in the direction of the smell.

The streets were beginning to fill out as the bells signalling a city wide alert did not cease. Pythagoras and Hercules, albeit much slower than their less intoxicated friend, hurtled through the mass of people, pushing and weaving their way through in an attempt to keep up with Jason.

As they neared the source of distress, clearly distinguished by the semi circle of people amassing there, it was clear to see that there was a fire in the temple. People looked on in fear and shock, muttering prayers to the skies and questioning those nearby about what had happened. Some of the men were hurrying past and attempting to form a line to get water in buckets to the fire to stop the destruction but it was taking time.

The temple was separated from the rest of the palace so although there was no danger of it spreading too far, the heat and smoke from the building was extraordinary and could easily kill any trapped inside. The only one close to the building was the Oracle who, while staying a safe distance away, was kneeling on the stone in front of the crowd of people directly before the entrance to grand building in prayer to the Gods on Olympus. It was a miracle she had not been in the temple at the time

Jason fought his way to the front of the crowd to get a better look at the situation. The red heat could be felt from this distance away and the ferocious flames emblazoned everywhere in a smattering of bright orange and red light. He turned away from the fire to the group of around 25 people nearby.

"What happened? Is there anyone is there?" He asked, instincts taking over in his need to help others. Some women merely shrugged and shook their heads, barely giving him a second glance while some men told him that the fire had started around 20 minutes earlier and that was all anyone knew.

He glanced at the building in worry as every instinct was telling that someone was trapped in there.

A shrill scream from that direction was enough to confirm his suspicions as he bolted off towards the fire just as Pythagoras and Hercules caught up on the front.

"What do you think you're doing Jason?" Cried Pythagoras.

"You'll get yourself killed!" Shouted Hercules, but neither exclamation either reached or meant anything to their friend.

Jason raced towards the temple, ripping part of his shirt as he ran to wear around his face to limit the smoke inhalation but there was a lot pouring out into the night sky. He squinted as he entered as the heat made his eyes water but he soldiered on anyway, coughing and stumbling through the passageway to the main temple.

"Hello?!" He shouted as best he could over the roar of the flames, frantically searching for someone in the thick smoke started to completely fill the room he was stood in.

He stood for a minute and shouted again but there was no response. Seconds away from leaving, Jason heard what he had been looking for.

"Help me! Help!" A child cried. He turned to face the direction the voice came from and with expert agility, speedily followed the cry but he was becoming breathless now because of the smoke and his limbs felt fatigued. Fighting past his dulled senses, Jason carried on searching the child. For a moment, all seemed helpless as despite there being lesser smoke in this corridor; in the darkness he could not see anyone.

However, a slight shifting figure rekindled his hope and getting closer revealed a small girl pressed against the side of the wall, coughing and struggling to breathe.

Sighing with relief as best he could with the little air in his lungs, Jason wrapped his cloth around her mouth and heftily hoisted the girl into his arms, beginning the difficult journey out of the burning building. He managed a few steps but was struggling to continue with the added weight of the child. He stumbled for a second as his vision went hazy but regained his balance and continued trudging forward.

Jason didn't make it far before needing to stop and lean against a wall for a few seconds. He suddenly realised that he might not make it out of here but shook off the thought when he looked down at the girl. He needed to escape, for her sake.

With difficulty, he managed to keep going for two minutes before his body had enough and he began to collapse. But the two never got far as instead of crashing to the ground as Jason thought, he fell against someone else.

"Whoa!" He could hear the other man say through his face cloth. "Steady!" He took the terrified girl out of Jason's weak arms and heaved him to his feet again.

Jason lent heavily upon this mystery man as they stumbled out into the fresh air, getting a round of applause and cheers from the crowd of people but he was more interested in breathing clean air again than listening to people's praise. He fell to his knees and took the air in large gulps while the mystery man placed the girl carefully on the stone steps to sit.

Hercules and Pythagoras rushed forward with frowns to aid their friend but were beaten to it by mystery man who offered Jason his hand and helping him to his feet.

This was the first time Jason could actually get a good look at the guy out in the open. He was tall with a muscular and athletic build, like himself, and had messy dirty blonde hair covered lightly in soot from the fire. His features were well defined and his eyes were a warm but sharp hazel brown colour. He could see that this man was definitely a hit with the ladies.

"You did good in there, uh..."

"Jason." He smiled

"Jason, right, you did good in there Jason." The man said, shaking his hand with a very firm grip and a slight twitch of his mouth in the form of an approving smile.

"You didn't do too bad yourself – thank you by the way, for helping me."

"Oh, no problem, no problem. Just, you know, doing what should be done and all that – being the 'hero', it's no trouble, really." Jason's smile faltered slightly but the man didn't stop there.

"I mean someone has to be the courageous and strong one, you know what I mean? Of course, I don't take all the credit for that one's saviour" He continued, gesturing his head in the direction of the girl being checked over by Pythagoras. Jason didn't like the way he referred to her as 'that one' either – there were a lot of things he didn't really like about the guy now that he thought about it.

"You helped too I suppose, but you know, it was really down to me that you both survived so..." He turned to wave at the people standing nearby who roared into life, cheering and waving back – he really knew how to play a crowd.

"Anyway...uh..." He trailed off.

"Jason." He repeated with a frowning expression.

"Right, whatever, anyway – thanks for trying back there, keep it up and you might not need saving next time." He finished, walking away with an arrogant smile to his doting 'fans'. It took every of Jason's self control to not walk up to him and punch him in the face.

"Actually, I never caught your name." Jason replied tonelessly to the mystery man, walking towards him to ensure he heard.

The man turned around.

"You may have heard of me, my name is Perseus."


End file.
